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How Joan Cruel Put Her Mom Skills to Good Use at The Blissful Story Creamery

Being a mom is a full-time job. But there’s something special about a woman who can be not only a mom, but a business owner as well. This often means taking what she’s good at and putting it into use both at home and at work. Moms are naturally caring, detail-oriented and organized, and these traits are often what they use in their businesses in order to succeed. On the other hand, the best mompreneurs are also good leaders, and often take their expertise at managing their families into the workplace.

Such is the story of Joan Cruel, full-time mom and founder of The Blissful Story Creamery. By taking her love for cooking, baking, and crafting for her family, she was able to start her own business. The Blissful Story Creamery takes pride in its all-natural carabao milk ice cream handmade by Joan herself with the finest locally-available ingredients.

She shares, “My husband and I wanted to bring food preparation back to being personal once again, an activity [that] families can share. We all love ice cream, and [my husband] Desmond and I thought it would be nice to prepare our favorite family dessert. The Blissful Story Creamery is our small niche to personalize food for our loved ones.”

Thus, Joan went from being a stay-at-home mom who loves designing and taking care of her kids, to a mompreneur who not only makes her own products but designs the packaging, coordinates deliveries, and manages her own little team as well.

“Between me and my husband Desmond, he does more of the marketing and product development,” she says. “[He knows] each ingredient and distinct flavor profile, and being more tech-savvy, he also manages our online store and social media presence. Jared and Jaden, our sons, do quality control as tasters of the ice cream.”

With so much on her plate, it’s not surprising that Joan’s very busy. But after a year of running the creamery, she’s learned a few tricks of the trade.

“I try to prioritize my role as mom and entrepreneur daily, but I also 'embrace the chaos' and accept that not all of my activities will also go as planned,” she admits. “To juggle my roles in the business and the home, I use technology freely available now to help. Being a mompreneur, I have to work from the cloud so I can manage my business from my laptop, tablet, or smartphone whether I'm in my sons' school, cooking ice cream in the kitchen, or checking sales from our online shop.”

Additionally, as a mom, she’s got a few advantages that make her a good entrepreneur as well. She acknowledges that multitasking is a great ability to have both as a mom and a business owner, and says that it helps her maximize her time, look at the “big picture,” and achieve work-life balance. She even says that it allows moms like her to shift their focus, which is also essential in business.

In both her personal and professional life, Joan considers The Blissful Story Creamery her big achievement.

“[The Blissful Story Creamery] has become our family's outlet for creativity and innovation. It's something we can call our own, something we made from scratch and now has a life of its own. It's fulfilling when you have business that brings your family together,” she says. She also adds that starting the business made her something of a risk-taker, saying, “When we were starting out, we were told [to go for something safe, like get a franchise food cart. But] we wanted to do something of our own that people will love and share with those they love. Everything is being franchised…food, books, movies. It's a lot [of] work, but calling it our own…that's the best part of running The Blissful Story.”

As for her words of wisdom for other moms looking to be entrepreneurs, she says, “The only advice I can give to entrepreneur moms is to follow your passion and never stop learning. It’s so easy for us to be caught up in our daily tasks and commitments, but for our businesses to grow, we also have to grow. Most importantly, get your family's support. Besides making it easier, having your family supporting you in the business can also make you grow closer to each other…and at the end of the day, for me that's what life is all about.”

Make ThePLAN to greet your mom a happy mother’s day! A simple gesture of gratitude will surely touch her heart.